Deadly zoo animals roam capital after floods kill 9 people

A man shoots a tranquilizer dart to put a hippopotamus to sleep at a flooded street in Tbilisi, Georgia on June 14. At least five people died and several are missing as a result of heavy rainfall and floods overnight in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, Georgian news agencies reported on Sunday. Animals from the city's zoo including tigers, lions, bears and wolves escaped

from cages damaged by the rainfall. Some were captured or killed while the search for others goes on. © Reuters

TBILISI (Reuters) -- Deadly zoo animals were prowling the streets of Tbilisi on Sunday after floods that killed at least nine people damaged their cages, setting them free, local news agencies reported.
     Tigers, lions, bears and wolves were among the more than 30 animals that escaped from the zoo in the Georgian capital overnight.
     Reuters photographs showed a marksman shooting tranquilizer darts at a hippopotamus walking past shops on a mud-soaked street.
     Residents were advised to stay indoors until the animals could be captured.
     Heavy rains turned the Vere river that flows through Tbilisi into a torrent that swept away dozens of buildings and cars. Authorities said the damage would amount to millions of dollars.
     "Dozens of families remain homeless as their houses were destroyed or damaged in the capital," deputy mayor Irakly Lekvinadze told reporters.